A chara, - Declan Kiberd (Opinion, November 14th) remarks on the absence of a "signature building" to commemorate the Ahern years. Personally, I doubt whether the construction of any coherent structure would do justice to the essence of "Ahernism", which for many people defies definition. How might one capture, in a solid structure, for example, a representation of that fog of obfuscation with which Mr Ahern usually cloaks his political objectives and declarations?
In one particular area of politics Mr Ahern's lack of coherence and conviction became a useful took: when it was so effectively employed in the creation and out-workings of the Belfast Agreement. His tangling, as distinct from leadership, skills enabled him to draw the poison from an ancient national wound and, in this respect at least, he was the right man for the job. But, otherwise, and regrettably, it has been mostly a case of indecision and missed opportunities.
Ciarán Mac Aonghusa (November 15th) correctly identifies Mr Ahern's "lack of courage and vision" and I believe that when one puts the question of the economy to one side, this weakness has left Irish society largely leaderless and unfulfilled. To future generations of Irish people, Mr Ahern will most likely be remembered as the man who couldn't see the nation for the economy and who helped dismember a coherent and stable society by encouraging excessive immigration in order to develop a tiger economy.
This has been happening at a time when public services were already inadequate to cater for the needs of the indigenous population. For a self-professed "socialist", his era of power and influence seems to have been more concerned with promoting economic interests than with the care of the weak, disadvantaged and needy.
But, on reflection, perhaps Mr Kiberd's "signature building" to commemorate the era of Ahernism, is already in place. In common with the Ahern years, it lacks any Irish cultural or historical conviction, being both post-modern and post-Irish: it is neutral in relation to all the great issues of the age, and has a Teflon coating.
It also stands on a prestige site and dominates the General Post Office. - Yours, etc,
LIAM Ó GÉIBHEANNAIGH,
Áth an Ghainimh,
Co Átha Cliath.